Platform for Peace or Capitulation to Čović: Europe Doesn't Start with Ballot Scanners, but with Equal Rights for All!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

The parties that signed the document called the Platform for Peace on Friday, May 9th, and presented it as the key to unblocking Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path, have essentially capitulated. They capitulated to Dragan Čović, the leader of HDZ, to whom, in a desperate attempt to get him to sign, they offered a major concession packaged in European attire.

As always, the devil is in the details. The fifth priority of this platform concerns the reform of the electoral legislation, and this point contains all the political cynicism of this document.

"Reform of the electoral legislation, in accordance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as further accelerated activities to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process, so that at the general elections in 2026, the voting process is carried out using electoral technologies (ballot scanners, document authentication equipment, etc.) and respecting the adopted recommendations of ODIHR, GRECO, and the European Commission."

At first glance, it seems European and technically precise. But the order in which the legal instances are listed – first the rulings of the Constitutional Court of BiH, and only then the European Court of Human Rights – reveals the political priority of satisfying Čović, and only then Europe.

Thus, the representatives of the Trojka (SDP, Our Party, People and Justice), NES, BHI KF, Naprijed, and the opposition from RS (SDS, PDP, List for Justice and Order), at a time when BiH needs a decisive step towards democratic state organization (which is an essential prerequisite for EU membership), made a conscious and deeply problematic mistake by agreeing to include the Ljubić ruling in the agreement – even though that ruling has already been implemented and closed, as High Representative Christian Schmidt explicitly stated.

"For me, the Ljubić case is legally concluded," stated Schmidt.
That ruling relates exclusively to the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH, not the Presidency, and cannot be the basis for a broader recomposition of the electoral system along ethnic lines. However, for years it has been used precisely for this purpose as the basis for HDZ's demand for "legitimate representation," which in practice means closing the political scene along ethnic lines.

By including Ljubić in the agreement, the Trojka consciously agrees to a selective application of justice, or as they like to say, 'it's not fair for others to choose the Presidency member for Croats'! The fact that, for example, Bosniaks and Croats in Republika Srpska cannot even be candidates is less important for the two Trojkas at this moment, or rather, that is also a difficult issue.

Therefore, this is not about implementing European standards, but about cementing Dragan Čović's desires. Stories about scanners, digitalization, all of that is decoration intended to mask political trading. Because technology does not solve the fundamental question of whether citizens of BiH will vote as individuals with equal rights, or as members of collectives controlled by national leaders.

That is why the priority should have been clear: first the rulings from Strasbourg, and then everything else. With Čović, once and for all, concessions should not have been made, as has been the case with SNSD, and now they can't even start the excavators to sweep him out of power, because they previously gave him all the levers, so the excavator ran out of fuel.

As the signatories themselves announced, and as Dodik himself skillfully noted, difficult issues were omitted. And when difficult issues are skipped, the only thing left is a hidden agreement with the lowest common denominator, in this case, the HDZ interest.

If the Trojkas are truly for the European path, then they cannot agree to "reforms" that solely serve to maintain HDZ's political hegemony. Because Europe does not start with a ballot scanner, but with equal rights for all.